For more than a decade, people have been saying the same thing: email is about to die.
First social media was supposed to kill it. Then messaging apps. Then push notifications. Then Slack. Then WhatsApp. Now AI is next in line.
And somehow, email is still here.
Yes, people read fewer newsletters and half of our inbox is spam, notifications, and “your discount expires in 3 hours.” Most people might open Gmail or Outlook more out of habit than because they enjoy it.
Maybe we have been asking the wrong question all this time. The question is not whether people still need email. The real question is: why do the companies receiving email still keep this channel alive?
Why do companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo continue to maintain a huge, expensive, spam-filled system that requires endless filtering, abuse teams, fraud prevention, moderation, and billions of dollars in infrastructure?
If you only look at email itself, it makes little sense. Email is no longer “cool.” It is difficult to monetize directly. There is an endless amount of spam. Users complain. Senders constantly try to game the system.
So why keep it? Well, because email is no longer really about email.
“Email has become the front door to an ecosystem.“
You open Gmail to check one message, but while you are there you also see your calendar, cloud storage, documents, ads, reminders, AI assistant, meeting invites, search bar, maybe even a few sponsored products.
“You go in for one thing and end up staying for ten others.“
It is like the milk at the back of a supermarket.
The store could easily put milk right by the entrance. But they do not. To get to it, you have to walk through half the building: the bakery, snacks, special offers, coffee, cleaning supplies, maybe something you did not even know you wanted.
You open your inbox because you need a receipt, a password reset, or a message from your bank. But on the way, you pass everything else the platform wants you to see.
Of course, there are still people who use IMAP clients such as Gmail, Apple Mail or Outlook. Those users do not see ads, for now. They do not spend as much time inside the provider’s interface. The “walk through the supermarket” analogy is weaker for them.
But even so….
Your email address is still your online identity. It is what you use to create accounts, recover passwords, receive receipts, verify logins, and connect almost every service in your digital life.
If a company controls your mailbox, they remain part of that chain, even if you read your mail somewhere else.
Many IMAP users still occasionally end up in the provider’s webmail when they search for an old email, manage spam folders, reset settings, or use another service in the ecosystem. Businesses also pay directly for hosted email through products like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, where the mailbox itself becomes part of a larger subscription.
That is why the receiving side has not shut email down.
The inbox itself may barely make money, or even lose money. But the control it gives over the user relationship is incredibly valuable.
As long as people keep using the same email address, the companies behind those mailboxes stay relevant. They remain the place every other service depends on.
That is also why email has become harder and harder for senders.
SPF. DKIM. DMARC. Reputation. Filters. Throttling. Blocklists. Compliance. Authentication.
The receiving side is not trying to kill email, but rather they are trying to protect the entrance.
Because the entrance is worth far more than the messages themselves.